Always You (Original)
by Leonardo DiCaprio
Summary: He tried so many times to apologize. He called her a mudblood, and it hurt. Truth is, she really did to forgive him, he just never knew. SevxLily, better summary inside. First HP fic, so please be kind. (REPOSTED ON MY NEW ACCOUNT PRENNCOODER). Thank you for reading.
1. The Letter

**In The End It's Always You**

By ~PrennCooder

First HP fic, so please be kind!

This is a short story for **SeverusxLily**: because they _always_ belonged together. May have more chapters if there's enough reviews. Tell me if it's worth continuing. 

**Summary:** Takes place after the big end-all fight between Severus and Lily where he called her a mudblood. She refused to forgive him, no matter how many times he apologized. Truth is, she really did to forgive him, he just never knew. 

I think it would be AU because it's not cannon. And who knows, maybe Severus and Lily WILL end up together after all?

Lily was sitting in the Gryffindor common room staring at the fireplace. In her lap was a sheet of paper. Quill in hand, she was trying to decide what to say. She knew she'd never be able to declare it to his face—that she'd forgiven him. It would only add to his ego. If any other person had insulted her in that fashion, she'd have severed all ties with him forever.

But she couldn't do that.

She couldn't lose Severus.

He was the only wizard who had known her before she came to Hogwarts. He was always there, standing quietly by her side, listening to everything she had to say. He had been the one she came to for advice. Up until he started getting involved with the Dark Arts. He dug deep into a world of lies and evil.

But still, he had remained her faithful friend right up until that day.

Ooh, Lily shuddered coldly, remembering how they had treated him. The Marauders always had a special dislike for Severus Snape. And they made that clear to all who questioned it.

For hours, Severus had begged Lily to forgive him. She wouldn't. She couldn't. How could he dare to call her that after she'd only ever cared for him and tried to help him? Most friends weren't so kind. Most _people_ weren't so kind.

So what went wrong?

Maybe it was all spur-of-the-moment, Lily thought. Weeks had passed. She'd begun to calm down and settle into her forgive and forget type attitude. But every time she saw James Potter, she got all mad again. The worst part about that was the fact that she couldn't really _do_ anything about him. He was devious, cunning, and he wasn't afraid of anyone or anything.

And he had a creepy infatuation with Lily.

Yuck, Lily thought. She detested him.

But she couldn't begin writing a letter out of anger. No. She had to calm down so to keep her mind open to the facts.

"Dear Severus

I've decided I'm going to accept your apology, on account that you never call me that again. It hurt me. Yes, it really did. We haven't spoken in weeks, which is strange to me. Remember when we used to meet every other Saturday at that nice little place in Diagon Alley? Tomorrow, Saturday will be coming around again and with each one that passes, I think of you. I've remembered not to forget you. Well, how could I? We're still friends, aren't we? I really don't know anymore, so maybe you can enlighten me.

As much as I dislike all the dark things you're getting into, I don't want that to come in between our friendship anymore. You of all people know how much I hate losing people. Remember that girl, Jenette, who was in our potions class last year? She just recently passed away from pneumonia. I cried. I was so upset, and I had nobody to talk to. The thought kept entering my mind to go and talk to you. I'd think you were mad at me for not forgiving you.

So I went to Professor Slughorn. He was in the middle of talking to two Ravenclaws when I walked in and I felt awkward. But he still let me explain my problem. He told me that when one door is closed, another is opened. Instantly, I thought of you. And I knew it was time for me to forgive you.

In the hallway as I walked to my dorm room, Mary and her friends next door were singing this song.

**In the end it's always you**

**You're the one that I turn to**

**In my sadder days I see**

**Only hope for you and me**

**We belong, so don't you worry**

**Love needs no more hurry**

**I love you and you love me**

**What could do more perfectly?**

They were having a pajama party and they kept singing it over and over, so I got to hear it all night.

So, Severus Snape, will you forgive me?

Sincerely, Lily Evans"

Lily put down the quill and read the letter over. It felt good to finally pour out what's been laden on her heart. The burden was lifted.

_So did she really have to give this to him?_

Lily's Gryffindor instinct was to march right down to the Slytherin part of the castle and place it in his hands.

Sliding it under the doorstep would work too.

Loud voices entering the tranquil room disturbed Lily's fragile train of thought. She turned her head around to see the four boys walking past. Lily grimaced, hoping they were just passing through.

Remus, Peter, Sirius and…Potter. _James Potter_.

The Marauders seemed unaware of Lily's presence as they paraded through. Each boy had about six cookies in hand. They were shoving cookies into their mouths like mad, raving animals. James was holding a wand that was obviously not his own. It was pink. Lily recognized it immediately. Her green eyes lit up.

Lily stood up. "Hey! Those cookies belong to Alice Longbottom! I saw her making them yesterday! And that's her wand, too! You vile bullies! Give them back!"

The Marauders recognized the firey whoosh of hair that belonged to Lily Evans. Sweet, studious, lively Lily Evans.

The boys exchanged glances as they whooped and hollered about. Boys will be boys.

"They're ours now." James said with his mouth full. He was smiling.

He knew Lily was considerably annoyed, so he only laughed all the more. Lily tried to take them from his hands, but he swerved away.

And then he ran all about the room, Lily bringing up the rear. "It's about _time_ you started chasing me!" James chuckled. "Don't deceive yourself. You know I'm still faster."

Sirius and Peter were laughing their heads off. Remus noticed the full sheet of paper and the quill where Lily had been sitting. He took a few steps closer and leaned over the arm of the chair so he could read it.

A few lines into the letter, Remus raised his eyebrows. "Hey Sirius…" Remus's voice trailed off.

"What?" Sirius came over. It was he who was the first to pick up the letter. "Oh my—looks like Snivellus has a secret admirer! Ha!"

Peter nodded.

Sirius proceeded to walk away with it, when Remus stepped in front of him. "Hey! This doesn't belong to us. You're not seriously considering stealing such a personal letter to someone, are you?"

"No, of course not. That would be wrong. I'm going to give it to James. He'll know what to do."

"See, I knew we shouldn't have stolen from Alice. Now you think that just because you've done it once that it's—"

Professor McGonagall walked into the room. "Good evening children." She said to the three boys. Remus and Sirius feared for James and Lily, who were still making quite a ruckus. In their little chase scene, they had knocked over a lamp and tumbled over a few pillows. James was still winning, but it was the Head of Gryffindor House who forced a truce.

While McGonagall was lecturing the mischief makers, this left an opening for the other three Marauders to slip away quietly—with Lily's letter.

"This wand belongs to Alice Longbottom, Mr. Potter!" The professor scolded. She took the wand from his rough, boyish hands which were covered in cookie crumbs.

James hung his head down in shame.

"That'll be twenty points from Gryffindor! Wand-stealing at Hogwarts is not to be tolerated! You and Ms. Evans will be spending tomorrow night in detention."

"_Me_?" Lily protested. "But I was just trying to get back what he took—"

"Were you? Or were you going to go further? You're the only one who knows what would have happened if you had actually caught up to him." McGonagall advanced down the Gryffindor hallway and soon she was too distant to see.

Lily glared at James. Her lips were pursed and her eyes were fierce. Her arms were crossed, but her hands were in fist.

James just stood there for the longest time, staring at her. For once he was not smiling his most irritating crooked smile. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble." He mumbled.

Lily snubbed him as she walked away, nose high in the air.

Later, Remus, Peter and Sirius were waiting by James' bedroom. They yanked him inside and shut the door.

"Thanks for scaring me half to death!" James retorted.

"Sorry about that." said Remus.

"We had to show you _this_." Sirius shoved Lily's letter into James' nose.

James read more and more, and his face turned more and more worried and appalled. Snivellus was back to being a serious threat to any possibility of having a future relationship with lily. James snorted. His plan to finally get Snivellus mad enough to insult Lily had worked.

But it had also backfired.

"I know you're not going to like hearing this, James, but," Remus sighed, "I think she's in love with him."


	2. Letter's Course

**In The End It's Always You**

By ~PrennCooder

Okay, first I'll announce that JKR owns the entire HP franchise and I do not. 

Next, this chapter is about what happens along the way with the letter. 

R&R please. I want to hear your thoughts. Don't be shy. I want to improve my writing, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.

Ultimately, the end pairing in this story will be SeverusxLily, with small hints of JamesxLily scattered here and there.

"Remus, don't be ridiculous." James snapped. "How could anyone ever love Snivellus?"

"Yeah." Said Peter.

"Well, we have to put this letter back before she notices it's gone." Remus said.

"Or…" Sirius grinned, "We could deliver it to Snivellus, courtesy of a few extra words…"

"Now you're talking!" said James.

"What should we say?" Peter picked up a quill.

"Ah, something like—"P.S. Snivellus, I'm so very much in love with you!" James mocked Lily's girlish voice. His friends laughed.

"And, "Snivellus, please don't ever refer to this letter if we happen to be talking." Sirius added.

"We can't call him Snivellus or else he'll know something's wrong." Said Remus, the voice of reason.

"Yeah." Said Peter.

"Allright, just scratch it out and replace it with his awful real name." said Sirius.

"Write down, "Severus I just wish you would kiss me," because then he'll try to kiss her, she'll push him away, and that'll be the end of the two of 'em!" James cheered. "It's brilliant!"

"This is going to be awesome, James!" Peter said.

"I can't wait to see the look on her face." said Sirius.

"I can't wait to see the look on _Snivellus's_ face." said Remus. They all shared one last chuckle before trotting out of the Gryffindor house.

It was James who ultimately delivered the letter. Peter was too much a coward to even consider doing it. Remus would get the guilt and chicken out. Sirius was laughing too hard and he'd give himself away.

So James spotted Lucius Malfoy, who was about to enter the Slytherin house.

"Oh Lucius!" James called.

Lucius turned around. The closed envelope was placed in his hands.

"Could you deliver this to Sniv-I mean Severus? Don't ask me what it's about. I'm just the messenger. But, uh, I'm not a Slytherin, so I think all would be best if you deliver it to him." James could lie so easily. And everyone believed him too.

Lucius's neutral face turned into confusion. "Whatever." He walked inside.

James could only hope for the best now—that Snivellus would be smitten and then fall flat on his face when he lost Lily. Again.

"Accio Letter." Lily waved her wand for the third time. No letter responded to the call of the spell. "Accio _Dear Severus_." She tried naming the letter by its first words, but she received no luck. "It's gotta be here somewhere." Lily said. She searched the room desperately once more, searching for her letter. She had set it down on the chair which was right next to the fireplace. "I know I left it _right here_. While I was chasing James, is it possible I could have breezed by and it blew into the fireplace? No. No!" _But that's the only option left. It's the only possibility._ _Maybe this is just fate telling me that Severus was never meant to get that letter_, Lily thought silently. For a short moment, the idea of telling Severus in person flickered across her mind. But she declined and walked out of the Gryffindor common room.

The section of Hogwarts devoted to Slytherin house had darker wallpaper and dusty bricks, not to mention less windows. The occasional window was foggy and musty and let through very little light.

Lucius bumped into Bellatrix. "How would you like to deliver this for me?" Lucius showed her the letter.

"Don't bother me today, Lucius, I'm in a bad mood." Bellatrix stormed past.

Lucius groaned. "When are you ever in a good mood?" He snarled under his breath. He hated responsibility. Luckily Severus's dorm room was near. Lucius rapped on the door. "Snape! I've got a letter to you!" Lucius made his voice embarrassingly loud. Other wizards in the hall started chuckling softly now that their attention had been drawn. "Alohamora." Lucius whispered with a wave of his wand. After he realized that the door had a counter spell on it that made it Alohamora-proof. Lucius cursed. "Snape, if you're sitting on your bed with your nose in a book, I swear I'm gonna—"

The door opened and there stood Snape, tall and dark but not handsome in the least. His hair was long and black and shaggy. His eyes were tired and it appeared as though Lucius had interrupted Severus' evening nap.

"Here." Lucius forced the letter into Severus's hand and then walked away briskly.

Severus closed the door and began to read the letter. "_Dear Severus_, who—this is Lily's handwriting." He was so astonished that he had to talk aloud so he would believe it was true. It _was_ Lily's handwriting.

_Jenette died? You wish we were still friends? You miss me?_

Severus was in shock. How…?

The moment his eyes read the P.S., he just had to sit down on his bed.

_She loves me? Somebody must have cast a love potion on her or something. I've just gotta go talk to her. But not today. Tomorrow. It's almost curfew. I wonder what she's thinking…right now. Maybe she's thinking about me. She wished I would kiss her. How quaint. A girl's never wished I'd kissed her before. I swear I'll never call her a mudblood again. Even if Lily's not pureblood, she's still the sweetest person I've ever met. She doesn't deserve to be treated like the dirtiest kind of people in the wizard world—people like Potter. Mudbloods are the lower-class, but Lily's the exception. Lily's perfect. Lily and I are perfect. We'd always be perfect, if we were together._

His mind faded into a dream. Unlike most of his dreams, Severus was in a happy place for once. He was back home, in summer. It was that summer in Spinner's End where he met the Evans sisters…

Lily was on her way to History of Magic class with her friend Mary Macdonald, like almost every Monday morning. They sat together at a table near the front. Lily always found this class rather boring, but she opened her ears long enough to memorize the information so that she could later record the information on the "pop quiz" that was held every Wednesday.

By the time this class was over, Lily and Mary met up with Alice and Frank. The four of them would preceed to Divinations class together.

"Thanks for getting my wand back, Lily." Said Alice gratefully.

"How did you—" Lily wondered.

"Professor McGonagall returned it to me, along with condolences for my lost cookies." Alice said.

"Lily! Lily!" a voice called from behind.

"Oh gosh." Mary groaned under her breath.

Alice and Frank frowned. Lily turned around.

There was Severus Snape with a broad smile across his sallow cheeks. It looked unnatural. Of course, the most unnatural part was how closely he was standing to the red-haired Lily.


	3. Snivellus vs Snotter

**In the end it's always you**

By ~PrennCooder

Things are starting to get interesting. What we have here, my fellow HP fans, is a simple little love triangle. But things are about to get out of hand.

Reviews requested. Thanks for reading!

"Hello…Severus." Lily jumped inside of her skin. It's strange how, if you think about someone enough, they'll appear.

"Need help studying for the pop quiz on Wednesday?" Severus asked with an eager smile.

Lily got the strange feeling that Severus had been itching to talk to her for a long time. But _why_? Why was he suddenly pretending like they were still friends? Lily didn't like that look on Mary's face. Mary had her own pompous way of looking down on people who dressed and creeped around like Severus Snape. Frank and Alice didn't like Snape either. Frank was too shy to say a word, and Alice was too polite to make her opinions known.

That left Lily to decide for herself whether or not Severus was pretending.

Slytherin were not above making up lies to get what they want. They'll settle for no less than their deepest desires.

Or infatuations.

Severus's smile seemed earnest enough. If he kept smiling, he'd soon lose that dark, shadowy image he'd worked so long to acquire.

Lily looked downward, embarrassed.

Mary could see Lily was uncomfortable. Mary had no desire to be modest. "Look here, _Snape_, Lily's a solid student and she won't need help studying from someone like _you_, no less." Mary stuck her nose in the air.

"That was mean, Mary." Alice said. Everybody turned toward Lily, awaiting any sort of reaction.

"But, Severus, you just barely passed the term last year." Lily pointed out. There were only so many excuses she could make before she'd be forced to admit how strange she really thought it was for him to ask. Here? Now?

"All the more reason to study." He said slowly, the smile fading from his lips. His cheeks flushed, and he almost looked normal.

Mary chuckled under her breath. Frank looked away, hoping that one of his other friends would pull him out of this awkward conversation. He pretended to be happy to see Peter Pettigrew as he and his friends walked by. Peter waved back to Frank, and then informed his three friends that Lily was standing over there.

Alice elbowed Lily. "Sure, Severus, you can meet me in the library after school." Lily said quickly.

Severus smiled again. He was even happier this time, if that were possible.

Mary rolled her eyes.

"Snape get over here. Class is about to start." Severus's friends Avery and Mulciber were waiting for him at the entrance to the potions classroom.

Avery was tall and lanky and blond. His face was yellowish and his thin lips were chapped. Mulciber was short and squat, with short ark brown hair and fat pink cheeks. Their frowns were identical.

"Right." Severus said to the two Slytherins. He looked back at Lily. "See you after school!" He jotted off.

Lily couldn't even begin to imagine how or why Severus had gotten caught up with the wrong sort of wizards. Avery and Mulciber looked down on everyone that wasn't pureblood. Whenever Lily would pass them in the hall, they would give her a look as cold as stone, with their dark heartless eyes. Lily would shiver, and then scramble back to the safety of the Gryffindor tower room.

Speaking of Gryffindor, "I've never seen Snivelbrains so happy about anything before." James Potter took it upon himself to infiltrate many of Lily's conversations. He smiled sheepishly as he put his arm around Lily. Lily pushed it off with a hard shove. "Take it easy. I'm just messing with you." He said, still smiling.

That's what irritated her the most.

The rest of the Marauders soon appeared. Sirius stood close to Mary, smiling charmingly. Peter gave Frank a high-five and Remus said "Hello." To Alice.

_How lovely, they fit right in_, Lily mused with sarcasm. Lily realized that she was the only one out of her friends that had distaste for the Marauders. As a matter of fact, _all_ the other Gryffindors adored and applauded the Marauders. Most of the Ravenclaws liked them too. The Hufflepuffs only disliked the Marauders when James would beat their team at Quidditch.

Sirius began to brag about the final game of last Quidditch season, in which, James the chaser scored many points. The number seemed to vary each time Sirius told the story, increasing slightly each time.

Lily couldn't even count how many times Sirius had told the story just to baffle the girls. And it certainly was working on Mary.

Lily, not wishing to deal with the obnoxious quartet right now, made her escape into Divinations class where she was followed by Alice and Frank. It was when Trelawney began the lecture that Lily realized Mary wasn't in the classroom yet. She waited until Trelawney dropped the crystal ball—she did this three or four times a day—and had to get a mop to sweep up the remains. Then, Lily could get Alice's attention.

"Where did Mary go?" Lily whispered to Alice.

"I think she's still in the hallway talking to the boys. She's been hoping to snog with Sirius." Alice said with a smile.

"This is just like a soap opera, I'm telling you." Lily whispered back.

"What's a soap opera?"

"A muggle show."

"Listen, if you're dead silent, you'll be able to hear them." Said Frank.

Lily could just barely make out the voice of Sirius Black. Mary's voice was loud and overpowering. James's voice was downright annoying.

"_So, yes, she's going to meet up with Snape after school_…" That was unmistakably Mary's voice. Lily winced. Now that James knew about her planning to see Severus after classes were over, James would be sure to show up. At the wrong time. With the wrong idea.

James Potter was going to ruin everything.

He always did, so what was going to stop him this time?

Lily and Severus took the back route to the library. When they were sure that nobody was following them, they sat down at a table. Severus opened his book bag and plopped several heavy books onto the table. Not textbooks—extra credit books. Potion books, actually.

"Now that we're alone, you don't mind my asking why you felt the sudden desire to help me with my academics? Lily was pleased to get the chance to ask him what she'd been waiting to ask him for several hours now.

"Well, I got—" Severus began but got distracted by a certain someone poking his nose into the library. "Potter." Severus grumbled with disgust.

Lily's firey hair was hard to miss. James was always the first one to notice it. he sat down at the chair next to Lily and scooted close to her as if they were friends.

Lily sighed, annoyed. "Go away, James. You weren't invited."

Naturally, James picked up one of Lily's textbooks and skimmed through.

"What are you doing?" She asked defensively.

"Skimming the edges for sidenotes, marks, scribbles, drawings, _love notes_…" James winked at her.

"Love n—what?" Lily asked, embarrassed and appalled.

It was Severus who rescued the book by ripping it out of James's clutches and handing it gently back to its owner.

"Certainly you've heard? Rumor has it that you wrote Snivellus here a _long, gushy love letter_. Imagine my curiosity! I just _had_ to swing by and see if it was true for myself."

Lily gasped. The letter. James had somehow gotten ahold of her apology letter to Snivellus! I mean Severus! "You!" She stood up out of the library chair. Her green-eyes were stark-raving mad. "James Potter _I hate you!_"

"Me? No. If I remember right, it was Lucius. Lucius Malfoy. See, Peter heard from Sirius who was sneaking into the girls' lavatory and heard Bellatrix gossiping to Narcissa who had been stalking Lucius who had been bragging to Romona who was on a date with Avery who had gotten detention earlier that day—"

"She gets the point, Potter." Snivellus sneered. He stood up and pushed James out of the seat. "Now if you don't mind, my friend and I were studying. _We_ want to get good grades. I don't know what you and your pathetic pity party are up to today, but leave us out of it."

"Lay one more hand on me and I'll give you a fist up the nose, Snivellus." Potter squawked.

Lily's eyes darted from one boy to another.

Severus's cheeks grew red hot with anger and embarrassment. "Just walk out of here, Snotter."

"_What_ did you call me?"

"Snotter. You've got a pet name for me, so I figured I'd make up one for you." Severus smiled nastily. Lily could swear he resembled a portrait of Salazar Slytherin she'd seen once. It frightened her.

James retched, and then scrambled for the door.

Severus chuckled a bit. Usually, when he'd try to stand up to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter would be there to back James up. That meant it was three-and-a-half to one. Severus didn't stand a chance.

But now that he'd gotten back at James in front of Lily, he felt pretty proud of himself.


	4. James's Revenge

**In the end it's always you**

By ~PrennCooder

James is scheming and plotting his revenge. Gotta admire that kid!

Review please.

On his way out of the library, James ran into Peeves the poltergeist. Peeves blew a wet raspberry into James's face, scaring him half to death. "Cut it out, Peeves!" James yelled. He tripped over his own shoelaces and got up quickly. He ran as fast as he could into the direction of the banquet hall.

Dramatically, James sat down at the table next to Sirius and across from Remus and Peter. James made a lot of noise as he sat down, in the hopes of subtly attracting attention. He loudly placed his hand on his heart and said in a dramatically projected voice, "Slytherin's got her! It was _terrible_! Our poor friend Lily's fallen for Snivellus Greasy!" James moaned.

Sirius was too sharp to believe this was what actually happened, but he pretended for Peter's sake. Peter was obviously caught up in this exaggerated account of real events. Remus rolled his eyes.

As James continued to explain what happened in a dramatic tone, he received looks from almost everyone in the room. At a nearby table, Alice and Frank were whispering back and forth.

"I don't think Severus is _that_ bad." Frank said. "James is trying to compare Severus to a toothless crocodile. To me, _James_ seems like the mean one here."

"I'm worried for Lily's sake. D'you think she's lost sight of right and wrong?" Alice asked.

"_I _think she's finally cracked." Mary stepped over to where Alice and Frank were having their snacks. "Poor Lily."

"I've known Lily since first year and she and Severus _used_ to be friends." Alice argued. "But ever since he's been obsessed with the Death Eaters, she said he wasn't himself."

"She's a good person. But once she starts hanging out with the wrong sort, before you know it she'll be one of them." Mary said. Stiff-necked and proud-nosed, she trotted away.

Alice and Frank were left with the uncanny thought that Mary should have been placed in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.

Back at the Marauders' table…

"So did you finish enchanting that map, Remus?" James asked his studious friend.

"Shh!" Remus whispered loudly. "It's done. But ya don't want the whole school to know, do you?"

"No." James sank back.

"Excellent. At eleven tonight, we'll creep out of our dorm rooms and spoil Snivelly's luck. That's all it is, right? A bit of good luck?" Sirius said.

James though hard.

"Good luck." Peter repeated.

"Snivelly's been cheating! Then everything would make sense! Remember in potions class this morning? He'd been brewing something all hour, even when Slughorn was giving the lecture. I say either he slipped her a love potion, or he slipped himself some liquid luck."

"Liquid luck is awful hard to make, James. So it would have been most obvious if he had done so. And Slughorn wouldn't have let him get away with it." Remus said.

"Well, then, he must have tricked her into drinking a love potion, because there's no way that the Lily I know—"

James was interrupted by a strange shadow walking past him. Lucius Malfoy stared at James and singled him out. Then he began walking toward him, cocking his fists. "I hear you started a rumor about me, _Potter_. So that's what I get for doing a favor for you?" Lucius's voice was so domineering and clear that it caught the attention of most of the students in the room. Even if they hadn't turned to see, they had still stopped what they were doing to listen.

James shifted nervously in his seat. "I…uh…" James cleared his throat and remembered he was a Gryffindor. No fear. "Um, it was only because Lily's gone and wrote that love letter to Snivelly. I had no intentions of spreading a rumor about you, but merely using your _name_."

Lucius scowled.

"You see, Snivellus has the world's biggest crush on Lily Evans, and James here got so jealous that he was right about _forced_ to make up that rumor." Sirius explained.

James glared at his friend.

"It's true." Said Remus.

"Yeah." Peter agreed.

James gathered what was left of his dignity and released it into one sentence, "Will you help me break them up?"

"We know you detest the thought of them being friends just as much as we do." Said Remus.

"I even heard that Snivellus slipped her a love potion." Sirius smiled.

Lucius started to calm down. "Break them up, yes? Well, they'd have to be together for us to do that."

"We're going to have to let them think we _want_ them together." said Sirius.

James's frown was replaced with a slight smile. The gears began to turn in his mischievous little mind. He knew what to do, and there was no doubt in his mind that he would succeed. He was not about to let Snivellus Greasy get away with stealing Lily Evans.


	5. Plotting

**In the end it's always you**

By ~PrennCooder

A note—fair warning, I might change the title. 

Anyways, I was thinking a lot about April fools, here, and well it shows. You'll see!

Reviews please!

And as always, enjoy. 

In the library, Lily was not used to studying so long. She sat for about fifteen minutes while Severus was talking about charms, hexes, and potions from A to Z. Every little word Lily decided to interject only reminded the boy of another potion, for which he felt the need to explain.

He insisted upon proving his knowledge of everything so as to gain her respect. He felt that he needed to prove his worth to her.

The expression on his face glittered when he looked up at her to make sure she was still listening. It was about time it sank in with him that he was boring her. "Lily?"

"Yes?"

His face flushed, realizing he'd said her name without having a statement in mind to back it up. What was on his mind—besides her beautiful hair and bright green eyes—was the letter. _Her_ letter. "Lily, um, the letter…the letter you sent to me…I know you'd rather I not mention it, but, thank you…er for forgiving me…" His face waxed hotter than hot and if he had looked straight at her he was sure his hair would stand on end.

Lily nearly jumped out of her seat. She blushed but didn't realize it. "What…what letter?" She inquired, hoping she had misheard him, or that he had received a different letter.

Severus lowered his head so his shorter hairs covered most of his face. "It was your handwriting. But since you don't seem to know about it, I suppose…" His voice trailed off, crescendoing with embarrassment, anger and shame.

"No, no, no. I made a letter for you." Lily stood up out of her chair and looked nervously down at her fingernails. "I just, never actually, sent it to you. One day the boys came through and afterwards it was gone. Who gave you the letter, Severus?"

"Lucius."

"Hm. He's not keen on doing favors, so somebody he's friends with must have given it to him. You don't suppose James potter would do such a thing do you?"

"Deliver the letter? Why? Why on earth would he help us to…" Severus knew better to cut himself off before awkward words started to spill out of his mouth. He looked away, embarrassed again.

"I dunno. We should find out. He's probably planned a trap for us. But we can't fall into it, right?"

Severus nodded in agreement.

"Good. We're going to have to do exactly the opposite of what he thinks we're going to do. Make sense enough?"

Lily was so pretty when she was talking smart. "Huh?"

"Exactly."

"Well, he knew you forgave me based on the fact that you accepted my offer."

"Yes, er, well, we're going to have to do something wildly atrocious. Something he won't see coming. And we'll have to watch each other's backs too. James isn't above embarrassing us in front of the entire student body."

"Dating." Severus slipped it out.

"What-?"

"If-if we started dating, then he'd be totally off guard."

"That's brilliant, Severus!" Before he could even blink, she threw her arms around him and squeezed him so hard he almost coughed. He clamped his arms around her to see if this was really happening. He smiled. Surely it was. "Absolutely brilliant." She said. "See you tomorrow. I've promised Mary to do French braid her hair tonight—goodbye Severus." She started for the exit.

Unable to take his dark brown eyes off of her, Severus just stood there, smiling, frozen in place. He might have muttered a, "Bye." Somewhere along the way.

"Severus?" She turned back around, her long robe whisping around her legs.

He nodded.

"We're friends again, right? And we'll _stay_ friends this time?"

Severus nodded again.

"Would it be okay for me to call you Sev again?"

He nodded a third time, this time with an even broader smile as she walked out the door.

As Severus was walking into his dorm room later that night, he seemed to almost skip through the cold halls of Slytherin house. His lighthearted step did not go unnoticed by his peers.

"Reckon Snape's got himself a lover." Rodolphus whispered to his friend Lucius.

"Not really. He just slipped the girl a love potion…" Lucius contradicted.

"Poor girl." Said Rodolphus. He and Lucius chuckled.

Severus, not hearing the rude banter, happily opened the door to the room where he and his roommates slept. Severus flipped the light switch, the smile still lingering on his sallow face as he thought of Lily.

But when he turned around…

"Severus Snape! Have you gone completely mad?"

"Tonight was the night we were going to go you-know-where and do you-know-how with the you-know-what for you-know-day!"

It was Avery and Mulciber, Severus's two roommates. They were wretched looking boys, but ever since Severus lost Lily, they were the only people that considered themselves his friends. They both stood there—side by side, angry little beady eyes, crossed arms and a glare fixed on him.

"Um," Severus froze, feeling completely confused for a moment, and then he remembered. Now he felt so stupid! How could it have slipped his mind! "Tomorrow." Severus put his palm on his forehead. He clenched his teeth.

"Tomorrow is the first of April." Said Mulciber.

"A prankster's heaven." Said Avery.

"Our plan guaranteed us sheer glory once we humiliated _Potter_ and his lousy gang."

Severus could no longer tell which one of the boys was speaking. Their dull, slippery voices were freakishly identical. Severus threw his textbooks on his bed, but kept his wand at the ready.

"We waited for you, Severus."

"But now it'll be past curfew by the time we've set everything up."

"We realized this about twenty minutes ago."

"And we knew this wasn't worth getting any nasty looks from Filch."

"So, since you were the one who caused this problem, we decided to volunteer you to do the job all by yourself."

"And if you don't you can consider yourself relieved of our little circle. That means you're going to be able to expect a prank from us, courtesy of our own special talents of course."

Avery and Mulciber smiled, revealing their terrible teeth.

Severus looked down. "Allright. It's only fair."

Mulciber nodded and exited. Avery looked at Severus and remembered how happy he was when he came into the room. "Say, where were you anyways? Were you with someone."

"Noplace. With no one." Severus already had his nose in one of the textbooks.

Avery might have made an odd face or chuckled. Severus was no longer paying attention.

The moment Avery left the room and the door shut, Severus charmed it again so no one could come in. he feasted his eyes once more on Lily's letter and smiled. In just a few moments, he'd have to embark on a dangerous journey to you-know-where and do you-know-what with the you-know-what for April first.


	6. Boggart Bothers

**In the end it's always you**

By ~PrennCooder

Best

Prank

Ever

Slytherin-style.

All doesn't go as well as Severus hoped, though.

Read and you'll see!

Reviews please!

Sneaking into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at night was the easy part. Severus had his robe tied closed, careful not to reveal the large black bag concealed beneath it and close to his chest. He could barely see in the room with the lights off. But if he turned them on, a teacher would surely spot him.

This task seemed much easier when he imagined Avery and Mulciber here to help.

Severus sighed. To his great dismay—it didn't take him long to spot the large navy blue cabinet. It was the only cabinet shaking—and it was shaking because it contained a boggart. Snape's class had learned about boggarts last week, and that's when Mulciber got the idea. It was one of his more brilliant plots.

Severus shut his eyes so tight that they watered, but he couldn't bear to view the boggart and revisit the terror he'd seen before. No, boggarts were horrible, wicked old things. He had his wand firmly grasped in his right hand and the big black bag in his left hand. In his mind he kept repeating _Riddikulus, Riddikulus, Riddikulus_, over and over just to be on the safe side.

He had to be prepared if somehow this nasty thing slipped by him.

He opened the door and the boggart's screeching doubled in volume. For a moment, Severus felt overwhelmed with the foolishness of this idea. And then he grasped relief as he trapped the boggart in the bag, where its voice muffled again.

Once he could be sure the bag was sealed tightly and there was no escaping for the creature, then and only then did he open his eyes. He half expected headmaster Dumbledore to appear silently and peer down on him shaking his head with regret. But alas, Severus was alone. Safely and utterly alone.

By far the most difficult part would be transporting the boggart _out_ of the classroom without arousing suspicion. Severus cringed. He couldn't take the main hall, of course. He'd have to take Filch's route.

Creepy old Filch had dozens of secret walkways in the cold depths of Hogwarts that the average student dare not cross. They were filthy. They were mainly used to store garbage, collect food and mice, or throw old bottles and letters students didn't want. Nobody ever cleaned it, so the smell was putrid.

Severus swung the raging boggart's bag over his left shoulder and slowly made his way to the back door that led to one of the decrepit hallways.

The walls were made of rancid, battered brick crawling with bugs and draped in cobwebs. There was only one light per thirty feet of old tunnel ceiling. The floorboards creaked and Severus winced every so often because he feared he might fall through, or the sound might somehow cause Filch to appear.

The biggest detriment to his time was having to hit the boggart every five minutes to get it to stop struggling. The beast never gave up. The whole time, it fought against him. Severus could relate to it—being caged all its life and only released to have students throw spells and insults at it.

In some ways, Severus and the boggart were not that different.

Severus walked onwards, and stopped only at the exit that would take him closest to the Gryffindor house. After that, he'd have to chance it in the main hallway and hope that there were no teachers or prefects around.

"All for a prank." Severus huffed and rolled his eyes and departed through a creaky shaft door.

As the door shut, a head poked out of a nook. Peter Pettigrew had noticed the most unfortunate-looking Slytherin carrying an unusual burden—Peter knew he'd have to warn James, because surely James would want to know if his most despised enemy was up to something sticky.

With blatant disregard for anybody else in the halls, Peter zoomed past and took every back-route he knew of to get to Gryffindor tower as fast as humanly possible.

Peter shrunk to think that James had said only to bother him if it was an emergency. James had given Peter the honorable job of mapping Filch's hallways to add on to the map that the four boys were in the process of making—and enchanting.

Peter was overincumbered with both worry and self-pity by the time he finally got to James's dorm room door. James, Lucius and Sirius were in there. Lucius took one look at wide-eyed Peter and shut the door so they could continue their conference. Peter took a seat at a nearby desk where Remus was studying. "There's a pop quiz, tomorrow I've heard." said Remus to his friend.

Peter sighed heftily. He had quite the dilemma here.

"The three of them are getting way too into this Snivellus-versus-us little squall. Since I told them I'd rather study, James just told me to pretend like I think it's sweet that Snivellus and Evans are practically lovey-dovey."

Peter nodded.

"And that's about it for a prank. Since our little act fits right in with our enmity with Snivellus, we figured the two could just blend together. By the time of the field trip to Hogsmeade, James will be snogging with Lily. Or, at least, that's what he's planning. What do you think Peter?"

Peter, so shriveled with guilt right now for not telling James and just leaving his post like that, managed to stutter out, "I-I actually don't think Severus—Snivellus—is that bad of a guy. So why do you all hate him? He's never done you any wrong—only James. This should be James's fight because it's really only between Snivellus—Severus—and James, and, oh, Lily too possibly, so if we all gang up on him he won't stand a chance."

"I think that's the idea, Peter. And geez, I never knew you had so much on your mind."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You usually just sit there and do what you're told. Or you follow us around."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No need to apologize."

Severus was just entering the Gryffindor house. Luckily, there were no students about. He was relieved to quietly and anonymously slip inside and hoped he could do the same when he needed to get out. Now to find James's room…

The boggart had been sneezing and coughing for about twenty minutes, but Severus hadn't noticed until he felt something wet on his neck.

He put his hand on the back of his neck and then looked at it. It was covered in a thick, orangish-yellow oil. Ew. He almost retched, but forgot all about his cowardly stomach when he concluded that the bag must have a _hole_ in it if it was leaking boggart snot.

In a snap, the boggart broke away and Severus collapsed to the floor as it kicked him in the ear. Severus immediately closed his eyes and remained still and silent until the boggart had hopped away.

Several minutes had passed before he opened his eyes, the coward. How was he going to explain this to his friends? Avery would at most frown in disappointment, but Mulciber was the more…_vocal_ one of the two.

Severus disposed of the bag in the large trash bin and hung his head shamefully on the way out.


	7. The Attack

**In the end it's always you**

By ~PrennCooder

When boggarts attack, the Marauders have to be the heroes. 

Severus's heart is pricked for guilt.

But will he regret his mistake?

Reviews requested, thank you

Severus entered his dorm room—all dark and dreary from the cold crack at the far wall of the room that let in the midnight air. Mulciber and Avery were in their beds but they weren't asleep yet.

"Did you do give them the you-know-what?" Came Mulciber's rotten scrawl of a voice.

Severus felt a shiver of guilt and he hunched over, hoping neither of them could see his forlorn expression. "Yes." He said. Severus was a terrible liar. As he got dressed for bed, he had to convince himself he was not actually lying. Severus knew that the plan was to release the boggart into the boys' room while they were sleeping, but, Severus had let it get out before he could jam it into their room. There was now a boggart loose in Gryffindor tower, all because Severus had let it go.

What a coward he was! He should have stopped it!

All night long, he stared up at the empty cedar ceiling. Not once did his eyes close out of tire. He dreaded tomorrow.

_What if dear, sweet Lily should encounter the beast?_

Severus's heart pounded. He felt his stomach churning. He sat up to see if Mulciber and Avery were asleep now—they were. And then he checked the stopwatch on his nightstand. It was almost five thirty. In the _morning_.

Tomorrow was already here.

Oh the horror! The terror!

Sirius Black had woken up at six-eighteen because his bladder could hold out no longer. Naturally, on his way to the little Gryffindor's room, he encountered something that gave him a chill of death.

Suddenly, he was freezing to the very bone. The color seemed to die right out of the room. Everywhere was ice. In a shiver, he turned around to investigate, and he beheld—to his great surprise—the most foul creature that haunted the earth. A dementor.

Petrified with horror, he just stood there for a moment, its cold breath nearing him. He'd heard about these before, but never before had he encountered one. He was very much relieved to see Peter lurking the halls at night as well. "P-P-P-Pet-tter!" Sirius stuttered. "PETER!" He spat wildly.

The moment Peter's eyes caught a glimpse of want was haunting Sirius, Peter's head went white as a bed sheet and he collapsed to the floor. He was no longer moving.

Remus, who had been strolling the halls with Peter, eventually rounded the corner as well. Though Remus's boots made noise against the wooden floor, the dementor's breath did not waver from Sirius.

Sirius whimpered.

Remus went doe-eyed and shrieked. He let loose a scream so foul it could wake the dead. He wished he _was_ dead. Through Remus's eyes, the creature before in between himself and Sirius was a werewolf—and not just any werewolf—Remus himself, a full werewolf stricken with blood. _Human_ blood.

Remus looked down at himself to make sure he was still, well, himself. And then he looked back at Sirius, who still hadn't even drawn a breath.

"Get away from it, Sirius!" Remus said bravely. The creature decided to recognize Remus was there, and turned around. Its eyes locked in on him. Remus whimpered softly. "Run, Sirius! Now!"

Sirius made his escape in the nick of time. First he'd wake James. The two of them could go and get Professor McGonagall together. Then Sirius could be sure he hadn't gone mad if he'd gotten somebody else dragging along with him. Then they could watch each other's' backs.

"Get up now, James." Sirius shook him violently.

James groaned and turned over under his night sheets.

"Come on! Remus and Peter are gonners for sure if we don't go and get McGonagall!" Sirius said in a loud whisper. He grasped James by the wrist and pulled him out of bed. Next, Sirius opened the door quietly and drifted down the halls as unnoticeable as possible while a drowsy James followed close behind.

McGonagall's office was not far. Sirius rapped on the door louder by the second. Distant screams from down the halls were not to be ignored. James stood—his back to Sirius—with his wand in his hand. Sirius should have realized by now that a sleepy James would do him no good if McGonagall did not believe them.

"Good heavens! In the name of Merlin, _what_ is going on out there?" Minerva McGonagall was in a long green nightgown with a matching velvet nightcap. She put on her spectacles so she could see exactly who was disturbing her precious sleep.

"I saw it! I swear it! There's a dementor out there! In the hall! An' it's got Remus an' Peter—an…an…it's killing them slowly as we speak!" Sirius pleaded. James nodded, taking his friend at his word.

Minerva pushed past them and plucked her wand from its resting place in her pocket. "Never heard…midnight…boys…messing around." She grumbled under her breath.

The boys tried to keep up with her strict pace. Her cape flowed behind her, creating a wall of protection between them and the beast. Sirius wanted to see how a single Hogwarts teacher could possibly combat a dementor. James was tagging along out of pure curiosity.

They followed the antagonized screams to a clutter of several scurrying first years—and Remus, sleeping Peter, Alice, and Frank—huddled in a corner hopelessly awaiting the strike of the beast. The fact that a teacher had now entered the room seemed to have no effect on their horror-stricken faces.

In a flash, Minerva raised her wand and cast the spell, "Riddikulus!" Then after, most of the older students came to the realization that the creature they faced was none other than a boggart.

Remus, Alice, Frank, James and Sirius followed McGonagall's lead. Soon after, the first years copied them and discovered that what they feared most had now become undoubtedly hilarious. Embarrassed, the boggart fled.

Minerva had the nerve to shove it into an empty closet and charm the lock so that it was now trapped. She now faced the small crowd of awestruck students. "Boys and girls, _that_ foul thing was a boggart. It took the form of a person or thing that you feared most. The spell to repel it—well you've just seen how it works. Saying "Riddikulus" can turn the beast into a comical version of your fear. Embarrassed at your laughter, and no longer able to feed off your fear, it will flee. For the moment it is detained. They are well contained and so it couldn't have escaped by itself. This is a matter that requires a little talk with the full faculty board—you students should return to your dorms. There's nothing left to see."

Everybody was too afraid to even think of going anywhere besides straight into their beds. They hoped to forget it by morning. As for Sirius, he wished it had all just been one big awful dream.

As for James, he couldn't sleep. His boggart had been a distorted image of Severus Snape, holding James's broken Quidditch broom. Severus was laughing, saying that he'd taken everything from James—including Lily Evans.


	8. We're Dating Now

**In the end its always you**

By ~PrennCooder

New chapter up!

Hope you like!

Tell me in a review. And much thanks for reading!

Severus woke up, combed his greasy hair and changed into a clean set of robes for school. He waited for Mulciber and Avery to wake up so the three of them could walk to breakfast together.

Lucius joined them at the Slytherin table with a strange smile on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mulciber shot up.

"I'm not looking at you. I'm looking at him." said Lucius, pointing at Severus. "I know you did it, Severus. It just reeks of, well, _you_. Ah, Severus, always trying to be dark and evasive and cold, but you're so very bad at it…"

"What are you getting at?" Asked Severus defensively.

"Last night's little scare. Everybody is talking about it. You must be deaf if you haven't heard any of it. listen." Lucius, Severus, Mulciber and Avery cupped their hands around their ears.

"…Midnight boggart. Yes it was awful, dreadful!..."

"…Dementor almost had Remus, and then…"

"…Clear as day. A boggart. I swear I saw a…"

"…Werewolf? Creepy. But I know it was a…"

"…I hate boggarts…"

"…Me too. I wish it had gotten loose in Slytherin tower instead…"

"…Yes, then Snivellus could wet his pants in front of his whole house!..."

"…Boggarts. Yes I saw…"

"…To repel a boggart…"

"…Boggart…"

With each mention of the two syllabled word, Severus felt more and more queasy. Mulciber and Avery seemed to shrug it off like it was nothing. Lucius walked away laughing. Before he went, he said, "Don't worry, Severus, your secret's safe with me."

"I still believe it's the best prank in the history of great pranks." Avery said to Severus in a low tone that only they could hear.

Severus couldn't help looking down in guilt. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of reddish orange.

Lily.

Her long curly hair bounced up and down. Severus smiled, hoping that she'd notice him and look at him. But instead her wonderful green eyes were fixed on none other than James Potter. Severus's happy face twisted into a cold sneer. He could tell that Lily was mouthing something to the four Marauders. "I've been sitting there every day for the past month!" Severus could hear her voice faintly. "When Mary gets here, she'll make _sure_ you get up!"

"That's it." Said Severus. Impulsively he marched right over by them.

"'Morning, Snivellus." Said Remus Lupin.

Peter Pettigrew pretended Severus wasn't there. Peter resumed eating his breakfast.

"Hahaha ha." James and Sirius had identical laughs.

Severus frowned.

"Oh hi, Sev."

He smiled. She hadn't called him that in so long. He missed it. Suddenly his mood was lighter and his angry eyebrows seemed heavy so he relaxed them. "I believe you're sitting in her seat, _Snotter_."

James lost his glee. "I can sit wherever I want, Snivellus. And in case you haven't caught on, it would be four against two. And I don't think you're prepared…" He mocked Severus. Sirius and James cackled loudest above all others.

"No I don't think _you're_ prepared." Lily said under her breath. She grabbed Severus's hand. "Severus Snape and I are _dating_!" she projected loudly enough for the whole room to hear, and still managed to keep her nose in the air and a proud smile across her sweet little cheeks.

Severus went redder than Lily's hair. Everybody was now looking their way. Even teachers were astonished. Dumbledore looked up from the porridge he was eating and stopped chewing to make sure he had heard the girl correctly. She, sweet, first-class, friendly little Lily Evans was dating greasy, cold and unfriendly Severus Snape.

"Oh snap." Said Sirius. He tried to steady James, whose eyes were now bigger than go0lf balls and his face was whiter than flour. Remus also got up and the two of them helped James to sit down slowly without fainting or taking a heave.

"Actually I think it's oh _Snape_."

"Peter, this is the wrong time to propagate a sense of humor." Sirius snapped. "I think James is broken."

"B-b-but why _Snivellus_? Why _him_? He's all greasy and dark, and greasy and creepy and greasy and mean!" James whined dramatically. This performance was only for the pretty girls to swoon over him, and everybody knew it. "Oh Lily, the loooove of my life, has been taken from me!" He pouted intensely, as if he was quoting Shakespeare.

Lily could see that Severus didn't like all the attention they were attracting, and so she suggested, "Why don't we go back where you were sitting, Sev?" She said with a cute little smile.

Unable to resist her, he agreed happily. The two of them sat across from Mulciber and Avery. Severus's two Slytherin friends exchanged expressions of disapproval. Severus was oblivious to it, because naturally he was abundantly happy to have all of his friends eating breakfast with him—peacefully.

Throughout the course of the day, Lily and Severus held hands and talked more than they had in a long, long time. Their little romantic spurt was much overdue. Lily took a special interest to snuggle up to Sev whenever the Marauders had a clear view of them.

It's the best prank ever, Lily thought, _and who better to be my prank partner than my best friend? This day couldn't get any better!_

It occurred to Lily in transfiguration class that she hadn't seen Alice or Frank all day. Lily turned to Mary, who she always sat with. "Mary, have you seen Alice and Frank?" She asked.

"No. But I heard they had to go to the hospital wing due to some freaky boggart incident last night. There was a boggart loose in Gryffindor tower and he gave everyone quite the scare." Mary's voice escaladed.

Lily's eyes widened. "Gee, I guess we're lucky to have not encountered it." She sighed.

"Rumor has it Peter Pettigrew knows the culprit." Mary whispered to her friend.

"Hmm. Well this is strange. The Marauders seem to be the victims here compared to the fact that they're usually the source of cruel pranks."

"Somebody finally decided to give them a taste of their own medicine.

"But who?"

The class bell rang and Severus was waiting outside the door to walk Lily to the next class-which was one they shared together.

"Give you three guesses." Mary giggled to Lily, who rolled her eyes. "See you at lunch." Mary left the two lovebirds alone.

Severus smiled, now that Mary was out of earshot. He could barely even look Lily in the eye without turning bright red. "Hello." He said softly.

She wrapped her arms around his thin body and held him close, warming him up with her compassion and friendly feelings for him. The two of them held hands as they walked onward to Potions class together.

"Sev you wouldn't have happened to hear anything about a boggart attack, would you?" She asked casually.

Severus's heart nearly stopped beating. "W-wait, you didn't er, en…counter one, d-did you? Lily?"

"No, no, it's just a rumor. I just wondered if you heard anything about it."

"Well, one can't, er, help from hearing things that, um, go around." He said. He hoped that the next class would be sufficient distraction enough to keep her off the horrible subject, and far away from the shameful truth.


	9. Supressed Feelings

**In the end it's always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**Okay, so big Quidditch game! Lily has to decide how she feels about Sev. Her best friend. does he secretly have feelings for her? is she the only one who can't see it? is their little "relationship" really just a "prank" to spite James?**

**XD Review please!**

The Quidditch game had been canceled due to the severe pranks that occurred during school. For example, some Slytherin girls thought it would be cool to make some of the Hufflepuff girls grow a few extra arms.

Narcissa turned a Ravenclaw boy into a frog. Sirius decided to make a fake prediction in Divinations class that "eventually every Slytherin will procure an obsession with bunny rabbits and other fluffy things". This "prediction" was the laughing stock of the next two hours. Professor Trelawney didn't seem very amused.

Even Albus Dumbledore himself decided to play along in the spirit of the pranks by warning every student to be on the lookout for random pixies. Everyone determined early on that he was only making a joke. The real element of surprise was when there was an actual pixie epidemic in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom (where the boggart had been safely returned, by the way).

Anyways, everybody was sure it was James Potter who was cheering the loudest that tonight's Quidditch game was back on. James's eyes quickly darted at Lily (who was sitting with Severus) and hoped to see her smiling because he knew she enjoyed watching the sport. But to his surprise, Lily rolled her green eyes.

After class was over, Severus walked his girlfriend to the courtyard where they sat down on a circular stone bench just outside the garden.

"Windy, isn't it?" He broke the awkward silence. That was the big issue here—ever since she'd announced that they were dating, he couldn't find anything to tell her that they hadn't already talked about before. He feared he was _boring_ her.

"So…Quidditch. I hear Slytherin's got the best players." Lily tried to start a conversation. For Sev's sake.

He shrugged. "I'm not really into Quidditch. I don't see what the big "whoa" is all about."

Lily gasped loudly. She gave him a playful nudge on the shoulder. "I'll show you. Tonight. You and me. The game. Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor. By this time tomorrow, I'll have made a Quidditch fanatic out of you…" She looked into his dark brown eyes. Instead of seeing long, empty tunnels like once before, she now saw a reflection—of herself. Probably just the lighting out here. Weird. She had an uncanny habit of blushing when she was in these _weird_ situations.

He smiled back, and was blushing unawares.

Hours of studying in Gryffindor tower had left Lily Evans refreshed and relaxed. And now that it was time for the big sports game, she decided it was time to groom. She brushed her long, intensely orange hair and preened through the knots so that the bad hairs came out. She changed into casual pink shorts with a white shirt. Simple, yet it looked fantastic on her.

"Come on, Lily. Let's get going before all the good seats are taken." Said Mary Macdonald. Since Quidditch was played on broomstick, it's "good seats" were the reverse of normal sports games. In Quidditch, the higher up you sat, the better view you got.

With the flick of a wand, iris blossoms decorated Mary's dark brown hair. The rich color made her eyes pop. Mary made lilies appear in Lily's hair.

"Ready now?" Mary asked with a smile as she put on her jacket.

"Actually…Mary…I'm going with Severus."

"What?" Mary asked, the smile still on her face. "Come on, there's no need to keep up the joke around me. I know it's all a prank—for James—because you dislike him for some odd reason."

Lily looked down.

Mary's eyes widened in horror. "Please don't tell me that it's _real_."

"No, no." Lily said quickly.  
>Mary wasn't listening. "<em>You actually like him<em>….?"

"No! Not like that! Not at all!"

"Got it. You just feel sorry for him. I understand."

"Mary? Will you stop it! Just stop it! He's my friend! My _best_ friend!"

"I thought _Alice_ was your best friend."

Lily went silent.

"Hm. Well I hope you break it to Snivellus nicely."

"Break what?"

"You know, telling him you don't return his feelings."

"Return…his…WHAT?"

Mary smiled schemingly. "Oh…nothing." She said softly. "I just don't want you to regret your decisions, Lily. I don't want you to finally decide to open your eyes to reality when he's staring you right in the face…ready to kiss you. You might find happiness—like I have with Sirius—or you might wind up in the hospital wing because he's got some freaky disease or something…" Mary continued blabbering all the way down the hallway even to the point where Lily could no longer hear.

Unfortunately, Lily was listening to some unfortunate thoughts of her own creation. Severus? Prank? Feelings? Kissing? Hospital? Disease?

The only sound around to snap her out of it was the sound of her own footsteps exiting the Gryffindor tower.

And there was Severus, in his old formal robe from first year, beaming down on her with bright, happy eyes.


	10. Quidditch Game: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

**In the end its always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**Sev and Lily's first real date! Like it? Tell meh what you think!**

"Hey Sev." Lily smiled, but her voice was uncertain.

He took her hand and they walked briskly out to the Quidditch pitch.

The stunning outdoor lights were already up. Lily put her hand above her eyes as she squinted. The stars above lit up the darkness of blue night. Indigo sweeps drenched the sky. The sun had long been set.

Narcissa and Lucius were sharing some treats they had smuggled in to watch the game together. They were definitely the Slytherin couple of the year—those two. Alice and Frank had also gone as a couple, but since they were both so shy and bashful, everybody around then wondered how the relationship ever got started if they rarely said a word to each other. Mary and Sirius were already snogging, and Lily knew better than to bother them.

"Lily? Lily, did you hear me? I asked if you'd want to sit in the Slytherin bunker or with your Gryffindor friends." Severus asked her.

Ah, Slytherin or Gryffindor? A choice the young pair would continue to choose between throughout the rest of their lives.

"Oh." She looked down, embarrassed that the possible conflict hadn't crossed her mind. "Where do you want to sit, Sev?" She asked him, hoping he would have a preference.

They ended up sitting at the very tip-top of the Slytherin bunker. All the other Slytherins were many rows of seats below them. Quiet, and peaceful, Severus thought this night would be.

Rarely did a Slytherin show up to a game where it was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. This year (and last year's) Hufflepuff Quidditch team was downright horrible and everyone knew it. Gryffindor was in the lead even before the game begun. Only a true fan would consider showing up—or in some other cases, if they were a member of one of the house teams in which case their presence was required at every game.

The coach blew the whistle—shrill and loud, the sound amplified by his wand.

The whooshing of brooms began.

Bludgers boggled about, hitting and flailing everywhere. The two seekers were neck in neck, the Hufflepuff seeker bringing up the rear.

The golden snitch nearly flew into the keeper's mouth, so he barely had time to get out of the way when the seekers were closing in fast. James, the Gryffindor chaser, scored a goal and the Gryffindor supporters stood right up and cheered as James cheered for himself.

Across the field in one of the seats, Peter roared loudly for James. When Peter laid eyes on Severus and Lily, however, he frowned guiltily and sat back down.

Completely unaware of all the cheering, Lily spat, "That arrogant toe rag." Referring to James.

Her sudden exclamation caught Sev's attention. He looked at her longingly, not even realizing what she had said about James, but simply being satisfied that she had said anything at all.

"It's quite chilly tonight." Severus said to her, hoping slightly that this would be an excuse enough to put his arm around her. But he didn't have the courage to make that move.

"Yes. I rather like it, don't you? I mean, I like the summer too, when it's warm. But I love the cold just as much. I suppose it's only because of the snow. Since winter's long gone, I know I must sound silly, but…look! Sev! It's snowing!" She said happily.

Snow during a Quidditch game—a truly wonderful sight. Rare, too, and almost unbelievable when you add in about the way the light affected the downpour as it shimmied down from the clouds. The players must have enjoyed it too. You could tell by the way that they smiled.

"Well call me mad! Snowing in April…magical." Lily beamed.

Severus agreed enough. He was the one with his wand underneath his coat.

The snow was only over the Quidditch pitch.

And it only lasted six minutes.

But it left little white flicks in everybody's hair, making the rarity all the more memorable.

Yes, he had made it snow.

But _she_ couldn't know that…

Lily threw her arms around him, all caught up in the moment. At the end of the hug, his arm remained around her waist and she was resting her head on his shoulder.

_I wish…I wish this would last…_Severus and Lily shared the same thought.

Lily knew that she wasn't about to give up _this_ all just because of a stupid prank. What could she say now that she'd changed her mind? That she'd wanted this feeling to linger? That she had any extra feelings at all?

She shrunk closer to him, hoping that somehow she'd be able to end on a decision. Right now she was still resting on the fence. She'd have to tell him everything. They were both distracted when everyone cheered for Gryffindor—the winners. There was no big surprise there.

"There he is! Severus Snape! He's the one you want! He's your boggart thief!"

Severus instantly recognized the nasally voice of Peter Pettigrew.


	11. Punishment

**Always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**So yeaa, here it is. Review please!**

Severus looked down and cupped his hands over his cold nose. Professor McGonagall's shroud loomed over him and he and Lily were in her shadow. He dared to look up at her, but her face was colder than the thin air surrounding them. Severus looked to Peter in confusion, disgust and anger.

How did Peter know?

"Severus Snape!" Professor McGonagall snapped. "I'm gravely disappointed in you!"

Severus shrank closer to Lily's side, but she pushed him off of her she stood up. "You're the one who set the boggart loose in the Gryffindor common room?" She shrieked.

"Lily, it was an accident!" He stood up, awkwardly tall and unsteady. He tried to scoop her up in an apology hug but she backed away and pushed him off.

"Accident?" Lily exclaimed, almost in tears. "You're a horrible, dreadful boy!" Her eyes darted to Peter, who now looked guiltier than ever.

"Mr. Snape, I'll be taking you to Dumbledore now to discuss your punishment." McGonagall took Snape by the collar of his shirt. Lily sat back down in her seat.

Severus did not ever try to loosen her grasp, until…

The bleachers creaked and cracked and wood snapped beneath their feat. Severus and the Professor were nearly to the ground bleacher when a jolt of screams burst out. One of them was Lily's. Undoubtedly.

McGonagall let Severus go in all of the commotion. She tried to make sense of what was going on. Peter came rushing up to her.

"It's Lucius! He bewitched the whole bleacher so that it'd all come crashing down! I heard it with my own ears! Lucius thought it'd be a great prank on Severus, but—"

McGonagall was casting spells every which way and that, trying to hold the bleacher together so that they didn't all come crashing down.

Meanwhile, Severus found Lily dangling from a crack in the wood and he helped her up. "Thanks." She said half-heartedly.

Seeming to ignore the danger surrounding her, she walked away, Severus tailing close behind, repeating his plea of "Wait, Lily! _Please_ wait!"

Once they reached safe ground, he stood in front of her, blocking her feet. "It was all a prank, Lily. It was Mulciber and Avery's idea to make me do the dirty work. Originally we were supposed to set the boggart on James Potter, but then it broke loose. It was never meant to harm anyone else, promise!"

Lily stuck her nose up at him, amazed that she'd led him on for this long.

"Lily please!" He finally let her past. "Please tell me we're still friends?"

Lily stopped walking.

She turned around at him, disappointed and scared. Of all nights, this was the one that it had to happen on. Their first perfect night together, and now would it be over just as soon?

A tear rolled down his droopy sallow cheeks. "We're not…are we?" He said gloomily, as if his voice had lost all hope.

"I've given you chance after chance…"

He wanted to take a step closer to her, but his body was just too cold, as if all life had been squeezed out of it.

"Give me one reason why I should still respect you as more than just another student at Hogwarts…"

Severus knew that there was only one way to keep from losing her forever…to hold her…and _kiss_ her.

He'd never kissed anyone before, not even his mum.

Severus pressed his lips against her warm, soft pink lips. It was beautiful. They closed their eyes. They belonged together, and Severus knew it.

He loved her.

And he always would.

"Sev," She said, gasping for breath after the kiss was over, "When? Why? Me?"

"I…love you…Lily." He said softly, hoping not to be rejected. Putting his feelings on display was the scariest thing he'd ever done. His heart seemed to thomp-thomp in protest. He almost wished he didn't have to say anything at all.

She squeezed him close to her warm body and slowly, he put his arm around her. He was still in shock. He was still new to the concept of being in love.

Ah, young love.

And he need not say anything more.

McGonagall, having heard Snape's explanation, decided against taking the boy in to Dumbledore after all and just having a talk with Dumbledore herself. They met in his office.

Albus Dumbledore had his night robes and cap on and he was giving his pet Fawkes an evening snack. "Why, hello, Minerva. Pleasant night, isn't it?"

"Yes. I need to talk to you…about the boggart." She sat down.

"Oh?"

"I managed to locate the culprit and get a confession out of him. Severus Snape is the one who let the boggart loose. And it was all a prank, can you imagine that?" She was agonized by the headache that the situation had given her.

"Severus? But he's such a good student."

"But his friends, they're…they're just so…"

"They're not all, bad, Minerva. Look at him, he's got Lily Evans. She's such a bright young witch."

"Yes, yes, she's the only good friend he has. And he almost lost her today when she found out about the boggart. See, she's good through and through, and mischief and evilness disgust her. I can only hope that Severus has set his priorities straight. Or else he might lose her for good. I worry about Snape more often than I do of any other Slytherin. He's a great student. His heart's usually in the right place. But he seems to be attracted to the type of friends who will lead him down a dastardly pungent path in life…"

"Minerva, there is no doubt in my mind that Severus will turn out to be a very good person."

"…Okay…"

"But you still want me to concoct a punishment for him?"

"Um, actually, I was going to suggest that almost losing Lily is enough punishment for one night. But you're the headmaster here, not me."

"Well, that's correct. Good night, Minerva." He said.

Professor McGonagall swept down the staircase out of Dumbledore's office and into her own office where she turned in for the night.

Everyone in Hogwarts slept well…except for two. Lily and Severus.

He was so shocked that he hadn't lost her. That she'd still be giving him another chance. She was never out of second chances when it came to losing him. How could he make their friendship better, he asked himself. And then he began to wonder whether or not they were still "fake" dating, really dating, or not dating at all. There would be plenty of time to ask her tomorrow.

Lily sat on her bed reading since she couldn't even get one wink of sleep. No matter how hard she tried to stay focused on the subject of enchanted plants and greenhouses, she couldn't stop thinking about Sev. She was trying to decide whether or not she returned his feelings.


	12. Dumbledore's Words

**Always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**Sev gets a talk with Dumbledore, and are Sev and Lily finally going to start dating for REAL? Find out!**

Breakfast came all too quickly. Lily barely ate a bite. In no time at all, Severus came parading over to her, daring to sit down next to her at the Gryffindor table. Sure, people would begin to talk but nobody could actually kick him out, could they?

Severus noticed that not a single Marauder decided to poke his broad face out of Gryffindor for the whole of the weekend. What could they possibly be doing?

"Lily?" Sev looked at her. She hadn't spoken a word at all since last night. "Are you still mad?"

"No." She said. "I know they've been bullying you. But two wrongs _never_ make a right."

Sev nodded in agreement. There was an awkward silence while he slurped some soup. She was rearranging her crackers. "I don't suppose we're still…you and I…together..."

"Together?"

"Yes?"

"No."

"No?" His eyes bulged and the blood ran out of his cheeks, making him paler than chalk.

"No, not what you're thinking. We've stopped," She leaned over to whisper into his year, "Fake dating now. April first has long been over." She finally took a bite of food when her stomach rumbled.

Severus shrunk in his seat. He wanted to ask her if they could date for real this time instead of just for kicks. "Lily…" He said her name too softly for her to hear. His voice was drowned out by all the rambling going on around them. Breakfast had always been a favorite time to fraternize and freshen up.

Severus's heart jumped when he felt a dry hand on his shoulder. "Pr-Professor Dumbledore? Hi." Severus said, short of breath.

"Hello Severus." Said Dumbledore casually. "How are you?" He asked as if they were close friends.

"Average."

Dumbledore sat down beside the dark lanky student. Lily cast a wary eye on them. Out of peripheral vision, she watched them.

"I'm glad to hear that you're allright. But, is there anything you'd like to talk to me about? Maybe…Gryffindor perhaps? Or something else close to that subject…you know I'm very old and I tend to ramble…" Dumbledore adjusted his spectacles.

"Um," Severus looked down at his hands. He couldn't bear to look the headmaster in the eye. No, not after Sev's mishap with the boggart. "What is it that you're referring to, sir?"

"Well, I can't help but think you're a troubled young man these days. I know that getting older is tough. But I always find it a little bit easier if I have a good companion around to lighten the load. You see, we teachers are a very close-knit group, and we have something similar to the closeness you have found with those who are other Slytherin fifth years."

Severus's face flushed with guilt. Avery and Mulciber were horrible people, and Severus hated admitting to himself that two thirds of his friends were awful gits.

Dumbledore stood up to leave. "Well, if you ever have anything you need to talk about, just let me know. But please do so before the little field trip to Hogsmeade. After that I'm afraid I'll be too busy with other trips of my own." He walked away, talking to himself.

Severus mused on what the headmaster said.

Lily tugged the boy down into the hallways where they could talk privately.

"I'm just going to assume you heard what he said." Severus sniffled.

"Every word." Lily hugged him. "You know I care about you, right?"

He nodded.

"And you know that I—"

"Love me? _Do you love me, Lily Evans_?"

"Love you? I suppose, in a way I love you as I love all my friends. But I'm not _in_ love with you. But I do _like_ you a whole lot…"

That was all Severus needed to warm his heart—even hearing her voice would be satisfying enough. He loved her so very much and he held her closely. "Go with me. To Hogsmeade. Next Thursday."

"Like a date?"

"Yes. A _real_ date."

"Will there be snogging?" She giggled.

"Loads." He said with a smile and he kissed her on the cheek.

Severus and Lily were walking around Hogwarts holding hands. They had been doing this all day. Mary MacDonald didn't like it, but Lily wasn't affected by it.

Lily persuaded Severus to come up to the Gryffindor common room where they could study potions together privately—Sev had been talking about this new potion Largaserum all day. It was supposed to make hair grow superfast and have no disgusting side effects. Severus cracked open the book, Lily sitting on the couch beside him, one of his arms around her waist.

A loud door smacked, which scared them.

"I thought everyone else had gone down to the courtyard." Severus whispered to Lily.

The couple stood up, but nobody was in the room except the two of them. "That's odd."

Because Severus and lily could still hear footsteps.

"Whatever it is, it's getting closer." Lily judged.

The footsteps seemed to be heading right for the exit of the common room. If there was a person standing there, they'd be able to see him or her for sure. Bravely, Lily approached, still holding her hand in Sev's to make her feel safer.

She took a look at the ground.  
>"Is it an animal?" Sev asked. He had his eyes closed.<p>

"No." Said Lily bewildered. "There's absolutely _nothing_ here."

The footsteps stopped.

"Peeves, is that you playing a trick?" Severus opened his eyes and stood at Lily's side.

There was no answer. Not a sound.

"I'd best be sure." Lily said to herself. She launched one great and powerful kick, expecting to hit air, but her foot caught on something. Fabric. It looked like thin air, but there was something there. Something she could not see. She pulled the fabric away and there was a boy beneath it. "James Potter!" Lily exclaimed, nearly having a heart attack as blood throbbed to her face.

Severus grimaced. If ever James was going to get his revenge on Severus, it would be now. James gathered his invisible fabric—and what was left of his pride—and moved toward the door.

"Wait!" Severus spilled out before he had any idea of what he was going to follow that up with.

Didja like this chapter?

Prenn asks that you leave a review with your thoughts/comments on the story.

Thank you for reading! I LOVE YOU ALLL!


	13. Deals

**Always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**In this chapter, James and Severus make a "deal" and Severus talks to Dumbledore later in the day.**

James turned around slowly, his hair bursting with static from the fabric and sweat on his brow. He frowned at Severus and his eyes were dull. James just stood there for a moment, gaping at the two of them. "I suppose your revenge is finally complete, then, Snivellus? First you humiliate my friends and then you set that boggart on all of us and now you've taken away from me the girl I've loved for years."

"Since we're being blunt, _Snotter_, _I_ loved her first." Sev enunciated every syllable. Had he really just said that? Aloud? To the two people he wanted never to know? He'd forgotten how hard it was to have confidence when he had none.

James huffed and reached for the door handle.

"Wait, James!" Severus called.

James turned around once more.

"To be completely fair, I know that I owe you an apology for setting that boggart on you. It was a low prank, even for Mulciber's taste. But I'm the one who did his dirty work. I'm the one you should hate forever—not Mulciber, or sweet Lily, or even Peter, who turned me in…"

James sneered. "If you're worrying whether or not I still hate you with every bone in my body, _I do_."

Lily felt all cold and hot at the same time, and concurrently, her stomach churned. "James…why can't we be friends? All three of us? Or at least the two of you could stop fighting. Nobody actually _enjoys_ fighting. I'd really appreciate if you'd settle this already. Make a deal. Come on, you two."

James scoffed. "A deal with Snivellus? Psshh. Never."

"When are you going to stop calling me Snivellus?" Severus belted. Lily held him back by clutching his arm tightly.

"Whenever you stop calling me Snotter!" Was James's answer.

"Snivellus for Snotter. No name calling ever again. A truce?" Lily mediated.

"I'll agree." Severus said.

"Fine." James and Severus had a rare moment of peace in which Lily made both boys shake hands.

Lily looked at James.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"Don't _you_ have something to apologize for?" She scolded.

"No!" He nearly shrieked.

"For bullying him all these years!" Lily burst.

James looked down. "Allright, _Severus_, I'm s-sorry."

"Good." Said Lily. "Now that we've gotten past that, do you mind telling me what _this_ is?" She held up the invisible fabric.

James took his invisibility cloak back from her. "It's an invisibility cloak."

"That's obvious." Sev said.

"It's an accessory—for sneaking around. If you're under it, people won't see you."  
>"But we <em>heard<em> you rather well." Sev pointed out.

James said nothing more; he just put the cloak back over himself. It was huge, and it easily covered his entire body and probably went past his feet.

But this time when he walked, he made no sound at all.

He just disappeared into the air.

Lily wondered if for some reason he was still standing there. She waved her hand in the general area, but there was nothing there. Lily and Sev scanned the room and listened intently, but there was not even the sound of an opening door.

The young couple went back to studying potions on the couch, and later they snogged for half an hour.

Lily was feeling sleepy, so Sev tucked her into bed and then exited down the corridor. He found himself oddly unoccupied at the moment. If he was still single, he'd've spent the entire day with Avery and Mulciber.

Severus had grown to dislike them in the past few hours.

And then he remembered Dumbledore's words of wisdom that he had shared earlier this morning. Severus knocked on Dumbledore's office door, but there were no sounds coming from inside, except for Fawkes's squawking. Severus quickly assumed that Dumbledore was not inside, and so he went to Professor McGonagall to ask where Dumbledore was.

"He's visiting Hagrid down by the hut."

Severus swept through the hallway, and took a sharp turn out into the courtyard. He spun around a bit before he spotted the hut. And then he ran down the steep hill as fast as human legs could carry him. The longer he had to wait, the more he wanted to talk to the headmaster.

He knocked on Hagrid's hut and nearly jumped. It had seemed Severus had awakened a loud series of creatures that were inside. He heard squawking, growling, barking, scratching, clawing and thomping.

Severus soon found that the thomping was the sound of Hagrid's feet, and Hagrid was in fact outside. "Hello thar."

"Hagrid, could I see Professor Dumbledore for a moment? He is here, right?" said Sev cautiously. Hagrid was a big wooly man and he was half giant.

"Um, yah, right around here." Hagrid led Severus to the back of the hut, where he and Dumbledore were having tea.

"Hello, Severus." Dumbledore stood up. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, no. Not really. _Great_, actually." He played with the wand in his pocket. "I actually wanted to talk to you about what you said to me."

"Ah, yes." Said Dumbledore.

Severus could swear that Dumbledore smiled a little bit through his beard. Hagrid pulled up a third chair.

Leave a review please!


	14. Invitation

**Always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**Severus talks to Dumbledore down by Hagrid's hut. **

"Professor, I wanted to let you know that I appreciate your advice."

Dumbledore nodded.

"And I've been thinking about something. Something radical. Something unheard-of. I wanted to ask you if it was possible to switch houses?"

"Switch houses!" Hagrid exclaimed wildly. "Whatcha wanna do that fer?"

"Severus, the sorting hat put you in Slytherin for good reason." Dumbledore said comfortingly.

Severus's heart sank. His eyes turned dark and he felt his whole body turn limp and useless. He supposed that after all that's happened, his good luck finally ran out. There was no chance of him ever being a Gryffindor hero if even Dumbledore was against it.

"Severus, I understand that you want to be with your Gryffindor friends, but you were born a Slytherin and there's no doubt about it. You can either give up or try your very best to be the most honorable and courageous Slytherin there is."

"But those are _Gryffindor_ traits and you just said I'm full-blooded _Slytherin_." Severus didn't understand. He almost spat out the words. He was so upset that he could barely hold back the bitter tears behind his cold eyes.

"No, they're traits of being a good _wizard_."

Severus looked down again, ashamed and embarrassed. He kept close to his heart the desire to be brave, and he related that with Gryffindor.

"Slytherins are awful brave fellers." Hagrid said through the biscuit he was chewing.

"Tell you what, how about you join the Order of the Phoenix?"

"The _what_?" Severus looked up, and traded his glum expression for one of confusion.

"Think of it as an elite wizard's club. We meet over the course of summer at 12 Grimmauld Place. Meetings are held every Thursday at seven-fifty." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "If you do decide to come, you'll learn special skills that most of your classmates don't know yet."

"Who all's in it?"

"Well, I've invited plenty of Slytherins. Many have said they would come, but none ever have. They're just too preoccupied, I suppose…"

"What about Lily?"

"Lily Evans? I was considering inviting her—"

"If you're inviting _me_, then you should of course invite her. She's a much better student than I am. She's very smart and good at talking."

"Why _wouldn't_ I invite you?"

Severus couldn't answer.

"Who I invite is my choice, and I'm choosing you. I invited Lily last year and that's where she met many of her friends. Alice, Frank, James, Sirius, they're all members. But it's secret, so don't talk about it with anyone who isn't a member. Am I boring you, Severus?"

"Not at all, Professor. I've never heard of…Grimmauld Place."

"I'm sure Lily can show you the way. She lives nearby your house, doesn't she?"

"Yes, but—"

"How did I know? I never forget places. I went to her house with her Hogwarts acceptance letter to explain everything to her parents. They're very nice, supportive muggles and good parents too."

Severus let out a short sigh.

"Not fond of muggles, Severus?"

Severus didn't want to admit the truth. Muggles were boring, plain, and ordinary as can be. They were as plentiful as the sand, whereas magical blood was much more precious. And the only firsthand experience Severus had with a muggle was his father, Tobias, who was very cruel and unpleasant. "Muggles? I don't like them much."

"That's too bad. You're missing out on a lot. If you treat muggles nicely, they can prove to be very worthy companions indeed. Muggles are just as important in the world as we are."

"It's true." Hagrid said. "I had a muggle friend once. Good feller. And then one day he just moved away. I was so sad."

Severus turned back toward Dumbledore, and he tried to be aware of Hagrid, who was now rambling and getting misty eyes.

"I'll talk to Lily about going with her to the meeting." Severus said. He stood up; all ready to go when Dumbledore stopped him.

"Severus, I'm glad to see you starting to make the right choice in friends. Lily is an exceptional young student."

Severus nodded.

"And so are Remus and James."

Severus frowned bitterly without even realizing it.

"Just give them a chance, and maybe you'll learn something new."

Severus trotted back to the castle. All the fraternizing seemed very loud today and it was giving him a headache. Dozens of voices, overlapping and echoing back in the hallway. Where was Lily? Alice, Frank and Mary were chatting in the courtyard. James was showing off the new broomstick that his parents had sent him. Remus and Sirius were having a race down the hallway and up the stairs.

And Peter was right behind Severus. He tapped his shoulder. "Snape? I'm really sorry I got you in trouble. Didn't mean for that. it's just—well—er—they—they got me so worked up about it, see. Told me I would be a liar if I didn't turn it in. They promised me something awful if I didn't—"

"Who? Who told you to turn me in? James? Sirius? Mary?"

"No, none of those. It was Mulciber, yes."

"Mulciber?"

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	15. Pixies

**Always you**

**~by PrennCooder**

Severus was now in a state of shock. Apparently Mulciber, his former friend, hated him secretly now. That's horrible.

"I'm sorry, Severus. Hope you'll forgive me." Peter said as he walked away, too intimidated by Severus to speak to him any longer.

Severus dreaded the class that he'd have to cross Mulciber, Avery, Malfoy, or any other Slytherins. Severus felt ashamed of himself, thinking that sitting with Lily at the Gryffindor table could turn him into a hero. He slumped all the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Today's lesson is about Pixies. Every year we try to touch on the subject because Pixies are ever so common in the magical world." Said the Professor. "Nasty little creatures. Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of these varmints? Yes, you, in the back row."

"They have no purpose whatsoever except to be eaten by larger animals and to annoy people." Malfoy's voice ran clear and vain, as if he was the only one smart enough to know the answer.

"That's correct." Said the teacher.

Severus had his head down in his arms and his left cheek pressing against the cold wooden desk. He had his eyelids shut, but sprang to life in an instant when he heard a loud THUD. Other students jumped too, and those who were sleeping snapped awake.

The professor had placed a large cage on the desk, and it was covered by a dark cloth, which he lifted up.

The students looked more bored than he had accounted for, and he soon learned why. There were only three pixies in the cage, all of which were old and shriveled gray. They were barely moving if they were even awake at all. The professor's whole body grew white as paste. His hands began to vibrate nervously.

"All this excitement and you only have three dead pixies?" Malfoy murmured bitterly to himself.

"Ah," Was all the teacher could say.

He scanned the room desperately with his eyes, until he spotted speckles of blue in the rafters. There were hundreds of them, all sleeping. At least the door was closed. The professor knew that he couldn't send the students out because one careless slamming of the door could wake up the whole lot.

"Everybody keep your voices down, or we're going to have a disaster on our hands." Said the Professor. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "There are pixies about." He admitted.

All at once, the class followed their teacher's gaze high into the rafters.

"Everyone remain silent. Move very slowly." Said the teacher.

One little pixie drifted down and floated in front of Narcissa. She shrieked and recoiled, startled. Lucius batted the thing away from her using his wand. But by then it was too late. Globs and whirrs of electric blue filled the room like a swarm of angry hornets.

"Immobulus! Immobulus!" The professor could only immobilize one pixie at a time. They fell to the ground and some shattered. Some of the smarter and braver students started imitating their teacher.

Severus had just taken down two pixies when he noticed a group of them lifting Mulciber and heading for the open window. Mulciber was pleading for help, but everybody including the teacher seemed too preoccupied to notice him. Severus watched hypnotically as the pixies carried the bitter ball of slime out into the open Hogwarts air.

Severus knew that this was his big shot—his one and only chance to be the hero. He rapidly walked to the window where he aimed his wand at the clump of pixies. "Immobulus." With that, they began to fall towards the ground, in which case Severus quickly said, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Though the spell was not strong enough to levitate a person, it allowed Mulciber to have a gentle landing on the grass where he could be safe.

The after-effect was that the pixies were soon under control due to the combined efforts of all the students plus the teacher. Sure one or two may have flown out the window, but curiously they ever-intended to remain with the students and bother them. Once they were all stuffed away into the cage, the professor had to explain the situation to the headmaster.

Mulciber never looked at Severus the same way again. He never thanked him either. From then on, Mulciber and Avery completely dropped Severus from their lives. They were neither mean nor nice to him. Severus however kept the thought in his mind for the rest of the day—that he had in fact saved someone's life. And that makes him a hero.

"Ten points to Slytherin." Professor McGonagall awarded him after he'd explained why Mulciber was found outside of the school walls.

Severus slept well that night, and he couldn't wait to tell Lily.

**Please review!**


	16. Travelling to Hogsmeade

**Always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**Tell me what ya think of this story in a REVIEW!**

The school year was nearly over. Everybody in Hogwarts was awake before the crack of dawn, packing and preparing for the big end-of-the-year trip to Hogsmeade. (Except for the first, second and third years who were not going).

There were all sorts of emotions swirling around. The first years had been enchanted with their first visit to Hogsmeade at the end of the first semester. The second years shared in that love for it too. But by the time of your seventh year, a trip to Hogsmeade seems almost like routine.

Severus knew Lily was in the Gryffindor tower packing and making herself look nice. Severus was debating on whether or not to go in there. He was finished packing. But still, it was one thing to go into the Gryffindor common room when there were only two Gryffindors in there. But going in there when the whole house is scrambling around makes a world of difference.

He chose to wait outside. She'd have to come out sometime. Then he could tell her all about the encounter with the pixies yesterday.

Severus sat on the stairs that were just a few yards away from the entrance to Gryffindor tower. He felt very bare wearing only his muggle clothing. The teachers had told the students to dress casual. And all Severus had was thin, dark, stained muggle clothes that his parents had bought him.

Peter and Remus were the first to exit the room with their suitcases. Severus recognized a shrinking charm when he saw one. There was no way that they could fit five nights' worth of materials into that tiny suitcase _without_ using the charm.

Next to come out were James and Sirius, wild and rambunctious as usual. In the middle of laughing at one of James' jokes, Sirius backed into professor McGonagall who was monitoring the students. He stepped right on her sandaled foot and then he whimpered, fearing a month's detention.

Severus chuckled softly, so that way nobody could hear him.

Next to exit was Mary, and it was obvious that the girl had gone to extra lengths to look attractive today. She walked right over to Sirius and he put his arm around her casually. Severus hoped Lily would be the next person to exit.

However, he was wrong.

Several more Gryffindors continued to pile out. Just when Severus thought the house would be empty, four more came out.

But Lily was not one of them.

He really wanted to go inside to see where she was. Everybody would be leaving soon. It was a long walk there. Probably close to six miles. That would take hours, especially with everyone's luggage. (Normally they'd just use the train system, but it had broken down due to a foolish wizard's prank).

Severus took a little breath and gripped his wand tightly, hoping no Gryffindor would call him out and ask him why he was going into their tower when he was a Slytherin. The door was held open by magic, so there was no need to know the password. (Which was Fudge Monkey by the way).

"Lily?" He asked timidly, as if she was in the common room waiting for him.

But she was nowhere to be found.

He really didn't want to, but he had to suspect the worst. He had to be prepared if she was sick or hurt or injured.

"Lily?" He called again.

"Sev?"

Severus sighed as she came out of the bathroom and grabbed her suitcase.

"Come on let's go. You're the last one."

"Oh!" She exclaimed.

The couple had to run to catch up to the rest of the school. They were in the courtyard before they finally caught up. Severus and Lily stuck to the middle of the group and held suitcases in one hand and wands in another. Lily's red hair was blowing wild and free in the wind. It had just a slight bit of curl and it dipped below her back.

Severus offered to carry Lily's suitcase for her, but she wouldn't let him. Then after a while, he offered to give her a piggyback ride through the mucky grass since she was wearing sandals and he was wearing boots. This she agreed to.

Up ahead of them in the line, the four Marauders were playfully throwing tuffs of grass at each other and laughing. Lily wanted to join them. The five of them played just like children. Severus was excluded. Soon others started to join in. The first to join were the Hufflepuff girls and then some Ravenclaw boys.

Severus caught up to Dumbledore and decided to walk next to him.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation?" Narcissa noticed Severus admiring their classmates playing. "Go on." She said encouragingly.

Severus looked at her strangely.

"I'm not blind. I can see that you want to." Narcissa eyed him with a slight smile.

Soon he joined them. He and Lily threw grass back and forth and then they dumped a whole load on Peter's head.

The sun rose overhead and its rays were beating down their hot backs.

Finally, the travellers had arrived at Hogsmeade.


	17. Very Short Trip

**Always You**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**Don't forget to REVIEW with your thoughts of this chapter!**

The students settled down and began to form into a thick line. As they talked amongst themselves, Severus listened in on their conversations.

"I can't wait to go to Honeydukes." Narcissa said to Lucius. "Ever been in there?"

"No." Lucius droned. "But I'm sure it'll be fun."

"I want to get a look at the Shrieking Shack. I didn't get to go last year because—" Frank said.

"I thought you chickened out." Mary interrupted.

"No he didn't. He got a horrible case of the measles, didn't you, Frank?" Alice said.

Severus and Lily smiled at each other when Mulciber and Avery cut between the two of them to walk by Lucius. Apparently, Lucius had taken Sev's place as their Slytherin friend. Severus felt a little hurt, but he didn't say anything.

Severus caught Lily's eyes wandering over to James and his friends.

"What are you staring at?" Severus asked softly.

"Nothing, I just—he's got a bruise on his one knee—I was wondering—never mind."

Severus shrugged.

James seemed to have an uncanny awareness that he was being looked at, and so he walked over to where the little redheaded Lily was standing, holding her things. He stood right in front of her, his arms crossed.

"What happened to your knee?" Lily asked quickly.

"Oh, that? I was helping out an old friend of mine named Aberforth move into his new home. I banged my knee up pretty bad, I guess." James said.

"Students, students, may I have your attention please? If you'll just follow me to the Three Broomsticks Inn, that's where we'll be staying." Dumbledore said, using his wand to magnify his voice.

The young wizards followed him over to a very old building. When they all got inside, they discovered it was uncomfortably warm, and packed with travelling magical people of all shapes and sizes.

"Hello there Madam Rosmerta." Dumbledore shook the woman's hand.

"Hello Albus." She said. And then she turned toward all the students of Hogwarts in the same friendly smile. "Right up this way."

Everybody followed her up the stairs, into a hallway that seemed to go on forever.

"How many rooms are in here?" Asked Alice, who was near the front of the group.

"As many as you need." Madam Rosmerta said. She then looked to everybody again. "There are two bunk beds in each room."

Everybody filed into rooms in a blast, and Severus and Lily were near the back of the line, so they had to walk a ways before they found empty rooms.

"See you in a bit." Lily said, taking the room across from his.

"Yeah," Severus said, a smile curling at his lips. But when he looked over his shoulder to see her, she was already inside.

After everyone had unpacked, Lily was shoved along with Alice and Mary down to Honeydukes, the candy shop. Lily looked all around for Severus, but did not see him. Alas, the day was nearly over and she had not seen him since the morning. Confused, she approached Dumbledore. "Have you seen Severus?" She asked politely.

"Severus is over by the hospital. He apparently stepped in the way of somebody's cursing—and, well—he's been—petrified." Dumbledore said clearly. "But he'll be fixed in no time. Professor McGonagall is going to take him back to Hogwarts—madam Pomfrey'll set him right."

Lily gaped. Without thinking, she ran to the Hogsmeade hospital as fast as her petite legs could carry her. She took off her strapless shoes so that she could make better speed. In the blink of an eye, she spied him. Professor McGonagall was directing two sixth year Hufflepuffs to carrying him.

Poor Severus. He was frozen in a horrible scowl, probably realizing he was about to be petrified, but knowing he couldn't escape the dastardly curse.

"Who did this to him?" Lily demanded to McGonagall, almost in tears.

"Calm down. Ms. Evans, he's going to be fine. Madam Pomfrey's reversed this case hundreds of times before and nearly all have been successful." McGonagall said reassuringly.

Lily took a deep, cold breath. Her eyes were bloodshot. "He must be miserable like that. It's not fair—he's been looking forward to this trip—_I've_ been looking forward to spending time with—"

"Ms. Evans, by the time you and the rest of your friends return to Hogwarts, he'll be good as new. You have my word." This was Minerva's way of closing the subject.

Lily started to walk away solemnly, but then she had a brilliant idea. She turned around and wiped the wisps of red hair from her cheeks so she could look the professor dead in the eye. "Couldn't I come with him? Sit by the bedside? Talk to him?"

"Instead of Hogsmeade?" Minerva's rose high.

"Yes." Lily said unquestionably. "Absolutely."

"Well, go and get your things, meet us at the castle."


	18. Little Snippet Chapter

**Always you**

**By ~PrennCooder**

**So this little part was supposed to be on the end of the last chapter, but I forgot.**

**Here it is anyways! After this, there will be an epilogue. Read it, you might be pleasantly surprised!**

Lily scurried away, feeling slightly better about herself. On her way out of the Three Broomsticks, she was sure to pick up some sweets Severus would like, including chocolate frogs and every flavor beans. She put one bean in her mouth, thinking it was chocolate flavored. But she wasn't so lucky.

"Moldy tree bark." Lily cringed through the crunches. Finally she swallowed it.

The long walk back to Hogwarts was very lonely. But Lily kept herself alight with thoughts of her boyfriend, Severus, and how much he would need her right now. Or was it more that she needed him?

All this time, she'd unbeknowedly been falling in love with him. Her parents and some other friends of hers had speculated that she would grow to love him. She had never admitted it was true until she opened the door to the hospital wing and saw him lying there completely helpless.

Petrified from head to toe.

Frozen in such an awful position.

But luckily Madam Pomfrey was helping him out. She was quite young to be the school nurse—only a few years older than Lily herself.

"Aren't you 'sposed to be at Hogsmeade?" Pomfrey was startled by the approaching Lily.

Lily ignored the obvious comment is obvious and stood next to Severus's bedside. She stroked his straight black hair gently—because it was brittle. It took Pomfrey well over three days to un-petrify the boy. Every morning Lily had sat with him while Pomfrey worked on him.

When he was finally free of it, not only was he sore and cold, but also very hungry. He looked up at Lily and smiled slightly, realizing she'd been here the whole time.

"Who did this to you?" Lily wondered.

"Just some rowdy kids—from another school—nobody we know."

"Humph. Imagine if it had been…"

"They'd've gotten in trouble for sure." Severus said.

Lily threw her arms around him, eager to hold him close to her. And then she kissed him. "I think I'm falling in love with you." She said wistfully as she looked into his eye.

"I always loved you." He smiled broadly and took her hand. "We sort of belong together, wouldn't you agree?"

By the tears in her eyes, he could tell that she agreed wholeheartedly. He wiped the tears away with the edge of his fingers. And then he kissed her little pink nose.

"I love you so much Sev." She said sincerely.

They walked into the courtyard together, where they spent the next four days talking and cuddling alone where nobody could bother them. But most importantly, they were very much _together_ from that point on.


	19. Epilogue

Chapter 12 (Epilogue)

In this little AU HP I have created just for fun…a Snape family next generation.

Severus and Lily get married two years after graduating from Hogwarts School. Severus gets applies for Defense Against the Dark Arts job to teach at Hogwarts, but ends up getting Portions for two years and then DADA. Lily becomes an Auror, but she had to take on maternity leave because she was now pregnant with a daughter who the young couple named Juliet.

The Snape family had ten kids in all (I had a lot of fun with them in the Sims 2 XD!)

Juliet Snape – (Gryffindor) age 17 years, the ideal over-achieving child and Quidditch Chaser, she is very serious and ambitious, but sometimes forgets the simpler things in life

Clark Snape – (Hufflepuff) age 15 years, very ordinary and boring

Estaire Snape – (Slytherin) age 13 years, definitely a full-blooded Slytherin, she very beautiful, selfish, and vain

Lulu Snape – (Gryffindor) age 13 years, humble and quiet – the sorting hat said there's a Gryffindor in there somewhere but we have yet to see it

Harry Snape – (Gryffindor) age 11 years, he was almost a Ravenclaw, but he had a noble thirst to be in Gryffindor and keeps reminding the headmaster and teachers that they won't regret having him there

Maverick Snape – (Hufflepuff) age 10 years, he's slightly awkward, but has a good heart and looks up to his older brother Harry

Mac Snape – (Gryffindor) age 7 years, he's aiming to be in Gryffindor, he's funny, sweet and adorably good-looking

Donovan Snape – (Slytherin) age 4 years – and Lily and Sev are already pretty sure he'll be in Slytherin

Perry Snape – (N/A) age 7 months

Zoey Snape – (N/A) age 7 months


	20. Author's Note

Author's note

~PrennCooder

I, Prenn am planning on doing another SeverusxLily love story but it will NOT be a sequel to this one. It will be completely different. Right now, it's just an idea in my head but I still want to do it.

It'll be called _Lily In Time_, and Lily will be in her seventh year.

This new story will not create an AU like my story _Always You_ did. _Lily In Time_ will be set just right so that it's possible that it could have happened in cannon, but, you'll never know unless you are Severus Snape.

What happens will be that Lily wants to join a secret elite club for the top-of-the top overachieving type wizards. Only wizards eighteen and up are allowed to join. And it's springtime, Lily Evans has just turned eighteen. She's got a lot to handle with the Hogwarts finals coming up in a few weeks, but she's always wanted to join this club.

The main requirement is that the said pledge—Lily—must take a magical watch necklace that will transport her _somewhere_, and she must stay there for two months and then return to that very room in Hogsmeade. The head member's house is where Lily will depart from. Lily expected the object to be a portkey, and she was prepared to be taken someplace else even though she had no idea where it would take her. But it's not _where_ it'll take her, it's _when_.

She gets transported to the future in Hogwarts where she meets Harry in his third year, and never properly introduces himself but has an eerie feeling that she's met him before. But the story will really heat up once she meets Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall. But especially Snape, because you see he's still totally in love with her and now might be his last chance to say some things he didn't get to say.

So should I write it out? Is it something you all would like to see?

Tell me please, and thank you all for reading Always You! I printed it today, which was my last day of Sophomore year and it was great. I can't believe I'm a Junior now! It's crazy, although at my school, every year is just one more notch up the ladder…anyways, I love you all!

Btw, Harry Potter and all characters—except my OC's of course—are owned by JK Rowling. Not me. Although I would love to own them, I don't sorry to disappoint you. ;D BYE.


	21. NOTICE

Recently I have gotten back into this fandom so this story will be rewritten (on my other account PrennCooder) of course. I hope you all will enjoy it then :)  
>In the meantime, I hope you guys will wander over to my PrennCooder account to check out my Danny Phantom fanfictions :D thank you! Have a great day!<p>

~ PrennCooder (Leonardo DiCaprio)


End file.
